Never Gone
by JackieFrost1234
Summary: I'm still standing here. No I didn't disappear. Now the lights are on, see I was never gone. I let go of your hand, to help you understand. I'm with you all along, see I was never gone. LYRICS FROM COLTON DIXION'S SONG 'NEVER GONE'. T for blood and Deathstroke being creepy.


_Never Gone _

**Oneshot! **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN YOUNG JUSTICE!**

* * *

Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing, walked into his apartment and trudged into his bathroom. He gulped breaths of air and clenched tightly onto the sink, feeling a warm liquid of crimson run down his face then drip into the sink like blotches of dark red paint. He flicked the light on, revealing to nothing, his suit ripped in several places that held slashes of deep gashes of meat an muscle and smaller burning cuts. He shot his head up to the mirror, making his damp raven jags of hair press onto his forehead. A large gash was at the top right corner of his forehead and was leaking with blood that created a track down his cheek and to his jaw.

He felt dizzy; hurt; numb... Scared.

"_Nightwing... I know your in here, little bird... Let me in,_" the chilling, haunting voice from his nightmares, purred just behind the bathroom door. Dick made a silent gasp, feel fear stricken his heart and his voice hitch. It was Slade... How could he had found him? This shouldn't happen! Not again! Dick swished his head to the bathroom window. He knew well not to go against Slade, so he had only one option. _Try _to escape.

Fast as possible, he steeped in his tub and tried lifting the window up. He had it lifted and began to stick his upper part through... God, how his heart raced... He only had gotten his upper torso to his stomach out before he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and yank him back into the bathroom. Dick kicked and screamed in the iron grasp, but was ceased when the arms squeezed tightly.

"Leaving so soon, Apprentice?" Slade's voice crooned in his ear; Dick could feel his hot breath escape past the mask and capture his skin. The young man's eyebrows twitched and his lip threatened to release a whimper. "W-what do you want, Slade?" he growled, trying his best to sound unafraid.

He failed.

Slade chuckled. "Oh, Richard. Slade is such a name in my past... Call me _Deathstroke. _Better yet... Refer to me as_Master,_" he hissed. Dick froze. "What do you mean?" he whispered. He could tell that _Deathstroke _was grinning under the mask. He felt gloved hands slip through his raven locks and yank his head back, causing him to wince with a grunt. "You know what I mean, Richard," Deathstroke cooed, leaning closer to Dick's ear.

"I want my little Apprentice back. I want the caring bond- that bond you and Batman used to have."

Dick clenched his jaw at the mention of the Dark Knight's name. He really did not usually want to hear any syllable of it, but for some reason, when Deathstroke had spoken it... He actually wished Bruce _was _here... But he forgot..

Bruce doesn't care about him anymore.

Not after what he done to the man two years ago.

But Deathstroke had him to hell if he thinks Dick Grayson was going down without a fight. "No," he strangled out with bravery. He felt the grip on his hair tighten. "What was that, Apprentice?" Deathstroke sneered. The younger of the two felt like his scalp was on fire and he corner eyed the sink, seeing his birdarang and smirked. "Sorry. What I meant was 'no... _Master!_"

Without wasting another second, he grabbed the birdarang, literally allowed Deathstroke's hand to keep a few strand of hair from his scalp as he yanked away, and with one slash, he sliced the blade across the man's face; the cut was just above Deathstroke's eye, and it quickly oozed with blood. Desthstroke only growled and grabbed Dick roughly by the neck. Dick released a bloodcurdling scream like an immediate reaction before he found his body being roughly thrown against the bathtub and breaking it. "You little, disobedient, bird," Deathstroke sneered, pulling Dick to his feet and shoving him against the wall.

The young man groaned in pain. Deathstroke took a step back and with one kick to Dick's chest, Dick crashed through the wall and into the next room, landing roughly onto the floor. "No matters, my dear boy," Deathstroke crooned, quickly tying the younger's hands, grabbing Dick by the ankle and dragging his limp form to the door with one hand. "Please... Stop," Dick begged in a hoarse voice and struggling weakly. Deathstroke chuckled and cradled the young man in his arms bridal style. "You will soon once again enjoy calling me 'Master'. Better yet, how about 'Father'? Good enough for you _Dickey Bird_?" he asked in an amused/teasing tone. Dick's eyebrows trembled in pain and fear once more. It was like Deathstroke knew every string of weakness in him; and most of them connected with Batman since Deathstroke didn't have a clue who Batman really is... But he knew well of Batman and Robin. And that was enough for Dick to start sobbing softly.

"_Tați... Va rog ajută-mă! Tați!"_he cried weakly.

Deathstroke snorted and began walking closer to the door...

Before it slammed shut.

Deathstroke stood alarmed with Dick still in his arms, but was now out cold at the moment. "Who goes there?" he demanded, trying to detect through the shadows. "_Let... Him... Go_," a deep voice growled. Deathstroke almost instantly knew who owned that husk and chuckled, setting Dick down. "Well, well. If it isn't DaddyBats? Came back for your lost bird," he purred, kicking Dick harshly the stomach. Dick's body skidded to the center of the room and light baby blues cdacked open as he stared at the shadowed area of his apartment in front of him. His eyes slighty widened for he could see a figure in the shadows.

"T... Tați?" he whispered hopefully.

Deathstroke grinned under the mask and he pulled out his gun, aiming it at Dick. "Either come out and fight me like the failure of a mentor you really are, or I will KILL him right before you... Other than that..." Deathstroke lightly pressed the trigger making the gun 'click.' The slit narrowed on the man's mask with a death glare. "You are going to have to _fight _for him."

Seconds past till a broad, dark figure stepped out with a cape draped over his arms. Dick felt his heart race and he immediately tried struggling out his bounds. Batman looked down at he young man that had been out his life for three years. It was like they could read each others eyes. "You..." Dick was speechless. He was here... But how? Or why? Did Bruce still cared for him? Dick held back the tears and smiled with a breathless chuckle. Surprisingly, Batman smiled softly back.

That was...

Until Dick felt another rope connect around between his bound wrists and yank him back. "Tați!" he screamed as he was pulled towards Deathstroke. "Dick!" Batman cried taking a step forward. A foot connected with his stomach, sending him back, crashing through the coffee table. Dick, now on his knees, weakly stood and tried walking forward, only to look back to see that Deathstroke had wrapped the other end of the zipline around a brick structure. "Oh, for the love of Christ!" he complained.

Batman stood just in time to dodge a punch from Deathstroke and ceased him by the arm, bringing his elbow to the assassin's chest and fist to his face. Deathstroke stumbled back a bit dazed and collided into Batman with a roar, both flinging to the much more built wall, creating a large crack and knocking down the picture hanging there. "What, you think that after three years you can take back what shouldn't have belonged to you?!" Deathstroke growled punching Batman in the jaw. The Dark Knight grunted and punched back, then connected his knee to Deathstroke's stomach then face. "I messed up, yes, but I'll be damned if I'm letting you take MY son!"

Dick was overjoyed, no, shocked to hear this and couldn't help but smile.

He cared.

Batman still cared for him...

_Bruce _still cared for him!

Narrowing his blue orbs in determination, Dick began working his hands through the metal wires. Suddenly, another crash took his attention. Deathstroke had his hands around Batman's neck. "Give up, Batman! In two weeks, your little bird will be referring to _me _as his father!" Deathstroke exclaimed.

That only made the Dark Knight more furious...

And Dick could see the Batglare...

He is SO dead, he told himself like Deathstroke had no idea that he pushed the trigger and Batman was the bullet. Teeth clenched to where they might break, Batman yelled, "He will do no such thing!"

With a strong kick, Batman kicked Deathstroke in the chest and threw him over the counter where the assassin made impact with the oven. Not wasting a second, Batman rushed briskly to Dick's side, grabbing a batarang to cut the wires. Dick couldn't help but allow a tear to drop down his eye. "Bruce," he whispered. Batman gazed at him softly and placed a hand on the younger's head, ruffling the raven locks. "You... You came back... You came back for me," Dick whispered. Batman only smiled.

"I was never gone."

Dick wondered what he had meant by that statement, but that was all the time he had left before Batman's body jolted into a stiff state. His masked eyes widened and his lips released a hitched grunt. Dick furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "Tați?"

The Dark Knight said not a word, but slid to the floor with a grunt. Behind him was Deathstroke... Holding a bloody knife.

Dick connected the dots and shot his gaze down at his father. His heart skipped a beat. "_No! Batman!_" he screamed. Deathstroke grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to meet his one eye. "You must watch this. It is sure to be _whelming_," he hissed. He then threw Dick to the ground and stalked over to the wounded man. He pulled out his gun...

Dick let a small gasp escape his lips. "No..."

With eyes of determination, he gazed down to the cut thin ropes and began tugging and pulling on them. He needed to help his father. He needed to save him... like Bruce saved Dick Grayson. Deathstroke aimed the gun to Batman's head and grinned under the mask.

"I am no need for your identity, Bat. All I want is what will make a man who was stuck in his own deeds, grow so strong in a weak way. I want and will have Richard... And I will slaughter any man who gets in my way, starting with YOU." _  
_

Just as Deathstroke was about to pull the trigger, a chair crashed in the back of his head, knocking him to unconsciousness. Batman looked up to see Dick, tears of whatever he was feeling streaming down his face as he heaved ragged breaths. The younger dropped the jagged piece of what was left of the broken chair and collapsed to his knees.

After countless years of hiding and running from Deathstroke, Dick felt like all the and misery fell off his shoulders- no, fell in his tears that hit the floor along with the forgotten blood dripping from his head and cuts. Batman stared at his ex-partner. The Nightwing, as he broke down in front of him.

He hesitated at first, but finally had got the courage to crawl next to Dick and gather him in his arms. Dick struggled for a bit, then he clutched onto the black cape he yearned to touch at the moment. "There, there... It's over. It's okay Dickie Bird, nothing's gonna happen," Batman whispered.

He had his first Boy Wonder in his arms after three years... Battered and in pain, not only from the cuts, but from the feeling of his heart. He didn't know what Dick was feeling. "Why?..." Dick croaked.

"Why what?"

"Why did you come for me? Why could you not let me be swept from this place by Deathstroke? Why save me after... Everything I have done to you?"

Batman thought for a moment and realized that Dick felt abandoned... Forgotten... Left in the dark and lost... Just one more fight alone and he felt broken. He sighed and rubbed the back of the other's head.

"Because... Even though you made a hard decision to go out on your own through anger... I realized that you were the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. And I just allowed you to walk away as if you were some random person... But I knew that if I loved something to set it free. But for some reason I could not... Find myself to do that. So instead of acting like you never existed, I stuck to the shadows..."

Dick felt his heart skip a beat once more and he looked up at Batman with lighted eyes. Batman smiled gently. "No matter where you were, I was never gone. I was always there for with you. I just let go of your hand to let you know when the time was right you would understand that I was always there..."

"And never gone..."

"Yes."

There was a sudden clattering from their side and they looked to see Deathstroke jump out the window. "Forgot about him," Dick muttered and lowered his gaze. "Great. Now I'm on the run once more."

"Nah," Batman said, ruffling his son's hair, "I will make sure he doesn't lay a finger on you." Dick smirked smally.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Bruce," he exclaimed.

"Then I'll try my best to make sure he doesn't."

"That's more like it."

There was a long pause before Batman asked, "Uh... I should get going so I can start trying to buy you a proper home..."

Dick chuckled. "No... I wanna stay like this for a little while longer."

"... Okay... Son."

"Love you, Tați..."

"Love you too, Dickie Bird."

* * *

**End! Tell me what you think!**


End file.
